Did you know that soap made from milk produces a particularly frothy foam? Or that coffee is a great way to remove the smell of onions from your hands? These are just two of the many useful tips given to participants in Agnes Oppeneiger’s soap seminars at the Klampererhof, where the resident farmyard pig Schnuffelwuffel gives guests a warm welcome.
As with food, the key to making good soap is the raw material. That is why Agnes Oppeneiger leaves nothing to chance and sources most of the natural herbs she uses for her handmade soaps from her own garden. Once a week in summer she holds soap workshops at the Klampererhof in the Virgental Valley where she passes on the knowledge which she received from her mother but is, she says, becoming lost these days.
The trained herb expert is an early riser and a hard worker. By the times guests wander down to enjoy their organic breakfast with homemade bread and butter, she has already milked the cows together with her husband, fed the other animals and helped her ageing mother-in-law get out of bed, washed and dressed ready for the day ahead. The weakest, says Agnes, always come first. Many guests spending their holiday at the Klampererhof enjoy helping out around the farm, such as letting farmer Lois show them how to milk the cows or travelling with him up to the alpine pastures. And when the day is done and evening comes there is no better way to relax than with a hot bath complete with hayflowers and, of course, a bar of natural soap made by none other than Agnes herself.
As with food, the key to making good soap is the raw material. That is why Agnes Oppeneiger leaves nothing to chance and sources most of the natural…
